Pain and Gain for One Fourth-Year Student

For his Advanced Integration Scholarly Project, Nick Phillips, '14, chose to collaborate with UVM Professor of Neurological Sciences Helene Langevin, M.D., and also with Martin Angst, M.D., founder and director of the Stanford Human Pain Laboratory. "I'm conducting an experiment with healthy human volunteers examining the mechanisms of acupuncture to treat pain and inflammation," says Phillips. The study is a natural outgrowth of Phillips' past career: for five years before entering medical school he was a practicing acupuncturist in St. Albans, VT. He hopes to finish data analysis from the study and publish in the next year.

The Clerkship Lottery from a Student's Perspective

There are many different ways people prepare for the clerkship lottery, usually somewhere along the spectrum from scrupulous planning, back-up planning, and contingency back-up planning to laissez-faire, go-with-the-flow apathy. I like to think I fell somewhere in the middle. However, when the first classmate's name got called and immediately chose a rotation schedule that I had placed at the bottom of my list, I couldn't avoid the pangs of panic—what did they have figured out that didn't?! Read more to find out whose voice this is >>

Teaching Assistants: Learning to Ask Valuable Questions

Fourth-year medical student Alyson Guillet draws looping lines on a whiteboard, pointing out how the kidney functions when a patient is hypovolemic (volume depleted), while second-year students in the CRR course take notes and ask questions. A teaching assistant, Guillet holds review sessions, late office hours and online discussions. "TAs have a few more years of experience, and help bring classroom learning to a clinical context," she says. UVM is one of only a few medical schools nationwide that require a fourth-year teaching month or research project. About 80% of students choose teaching, with up to 10 TAs working in first- and second-year courses by mid-fall, says Eileen CichoskiKelly, Ph.D., director of educational instruction and scholarship. Contact Eileen for more information regarding becoming a TA.

Students Present Public Health Projects at National Meeting

A number of Public Health Projects from the Class of 2015 have been accepted for presentation at the 2013 American Public Health Association Annual Meeting in Boston November 2 to 6. Students/projects participating include:

Two projects have been accepted in the Student Poster Award Showcase category; a showcase for projects focusing on alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs. There are limited number of spots open for consideration.

Updates from Student Governance

Student Council

UVM COM Student Council has had a very productive start to the year. The year began with electing our new representatives for the Class of 2017 who you saw featured in a previous newsletter. Events kicked off this year with an Class of 2017 Orientation BBQ, Family Day, and will continue this Friday, November 2, with the Annual Halloween Dance at UVM's Billings Hall which will be turned in to a haunted house for the evening. The dance starts at 9 p.m. Get your tickets in advance and come if you dare!

Upcoming projects include:

Creating a website for communicating with students about class and school-wide events

Implementing a centralized database of community service opportunities

Revising and approving bylaws to reflect the changes to the student government structure

Student Council is also looking to form more bonding activities involving all four class years. Please contact Vanessa Patten with ideas and be on the lookout for more information from Student Council.

Wellness Committee

October has been a busy but exciting month! While serving all four classes, the Wellness Committee's focus in the early months of the academic year has been on the incoming first years. With the goal of showing support and welcoming the Class of 2017, Wellness provided a modest pre-exam breakfast before the first ICDM exam, and recently, a mid-exam snack for the first HSF exam.